“We'll circulate a photo on the chance that someone saw you on your way home.”
Por qué es buena
A routine move spoken calmly, turning a long shot into real hope.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I'll ask around on the chance that someone remembers her.
00:00 / 02:33
00:00 / 02:33
Wilfrid Photographs Vole in Prison, Explained
Witness for the Prosecution · 1957
Capítulo 11 de 27 · 2'33"
Wilfrid visits Vole in prison and has him photographed in the clothes he wore the night of the murder — a picture to circulate "on the chance that someone saw you on your way home." Vole is more worried that Christine has not visited in two weeks, and bristles when the housekeeper's statement hints he helped draft Mrs French's will.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:16–0:44
A Prison Photograph for the Defence
28s - 0:59–1:47
The Eggbeater in Her Victorian Home
48s
Wilfrid Photographs Vole in Prison, explained
What happens
Sir Wilfrid and Mayhew visit Leonard Vole in prison. They put him in the clothes he wore the night of the murder and photograph him from the front and in profile, hoping a stranger will recognise him. Vole asks again why Christine has not come. Wilfrid reads Janet's statement about the will, and Vole denies helping draft it. Finally he tells how he first met Christine.
What's really going on
The photograph is the film's quiet engine: to save Vole, the defence needs a memory that does not come from his wife. "A disinterested witness may be of more value," Wilfrid explains, and the picture is bait for exactly that stranger. Vole's mind is elsewhere. "Won't they let her see me? I mean, it's been two weeks now," he says, and his unease is the first crack in the picture of a happy marriage. When Wilfrid reads the housekeeper's claim that Vole helped Mrs French write her will, the calm prisoner turns sharp — "If Janet said that she's lying" — and Wilfrid answers with a dry joke about an eggbeater in the wheels of a Victorian household. The scene ends where the whole mystery begins: Vole tells how he met Christine, and the story starts with a ceiling falling on him.
Key lines & what they mean
- “We'll circulate a photo on the chance that someone saw you on your way home.”
- The plan is a long shot: a photograph spread around in the hope that a passer-by remembers seeing Vole walk home that night.
- “It's obvious. You threw an eggbeater into the wheels of her Victorian household.”
- A joke about why the housekeeper resented Vole: his modern gadgets and easy manner disrupted her old-fashioned, rigidly run home.
- “It's rather funny. The very first time I saw her, the ceiling fell right in on me.”
- Vole begins the story of meeting Christine with a comic accident — a ceiling collapsing on him in wartime Germany, which is how their marriage started.
- “A disinterested witness may be of more value.”
- Wilfrid means a witness with no stake in the case. Christine's word counts for less precisely because she is the defendant's wife.
Theme
- Trust — The defence hunts for a stranger's memory because a wife's testimony is treated as tainted by interest.
- Marriage — Vole keeps asking why Christine stays away, and their story — the ceiling, the first meeting — is the film's emotional core.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel2/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“It's obvious. You threw an eggbeater into the wheels of her Victorian household.”
Por qué es buena
A kitchen gadget jams a stiff old household; the metaphor is funny and cutting at once.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Your surprise visit threw a wrench into our careful schedule.
“It's rather funny. The very first time I saw her, the ceiling fell right in on me.”
Por qué es buena
A collapsing ceiling becomes a love story's opening; disaster and romance land together.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
The very first time I drove alone, the tire went flat.
“A disinterested witness may be of more value.”
Por qué es buena
A calm line states the legal common sense that detachment beats devotion.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
A disinterested reviewer may be of more value than a loyal friend.
Siguiente · 12gave someone ideasLa escena: Leonard Meets Christine in HamburgIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- A mugshot is a quiet way to hunt for a witness.
- Disinterested means impartial, not bored.
- Anxious questions reveal what Vole fears most.
- The ceiling falling turns a meeting into a love story.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy do they photograph Vole in the clothes he wore that night?
To circulate the picture and see if a stranger remembers seeing him walking home at the time he claims. A neutral witness would be worth more than his wife's testimony.
Why hasn't Christine visited Vole?
Vole has not been told a reason; he only knows two weeks have passed. Wilfrid is evasive, saying she took the news well "only on the surface," which makes Vole suspect they are hiding something.
Why is the housekeeper's statement dangerous for Vole?
Janet claims Vole helped Mrs French with her income tax and may have helped draft her new will. If true, it suggests he knew about the money he would inherit, giving him a clear motive.
How did Vole and Christine meet?
In wartime Germany, near Hamburg, where Vole was stationed with an RAF maintenance unit. He says the very first time he saw her, a ceiling collapsed on him — he tells the story as a joke.
How did Vole cut his wrist?
He says he cut it while slicing bread when the knife slipped. He also says it happened two days after the murder, and that Christine was there and will confirm it.